Dordrecht, old city along big rivers

Dordrecht is a town of about 120 000 residents. The town is located in the province of South-Holland. The cities of Rotterdam and The Hague are in the neighbourhood. Dordrecht itself has a population of great variety. Most people are of Dutch origine. But there are many groups with roots elsewhere. Among them people with roots in the former Dutch colonies of Suriname and the Antilles islands (South and Middle America). Moreover there are people of Turkey and Marocco. In the sixties and seventies of the last century they came to Western Europe, the Netherlands and Dordrecht as socalled guestworkers. Many of them decided to stay, they got families and nowadays most of them, their children and grandchildren have the Dutch nationality. A rather new group of immigrants are workers from Eastern Europe. 

Dordrecht is known as the oldest city of the western part of the Netherlands known as 'Holland'. As from the 12th to 15th century the town was a most important port for goods from Germany and France and many countries oversea. Gradually the Dordrecht port and busines centre was overclassed by those of Amsterdam, Middelburg and Rotterdam. Nevertheless Dordrecht remained an important centre for inland shipping, distribution and transport. About 150.000 vessels are passing the town on their way to Germany, Belgium and the port of Rotterdam. In many ways the employment in Dordrecht is connected with the shipping and distribution sector.

But of course nowadays there are many other industries and services in Dordrecht. Among them food industry, metal industry and chemical industry. But in recent years the proportions have changed. The service provision sector (ICT, advising and so on) has grown and provides more and more jobs. Locally the schools, education centres and hospitals are important for jobs as well.   

Dordrecht has a modern city-manegement. To know more about it see its website http://www.dordrecht.nl./ There is an English version. Moreover there are a lot of ngo's dealing with the town. Some ngo's have a broader spectrum and focus their activities abroad. One of them is COS, centre for international cooperation. The Dordrecht-Dordrecht foundation is connected with COS. Both organisations share their office in the same building.

The Netherlands, a small and varied country

The Netherlands is located in northwestern Europe along the North Sea. It is a constitutional monarchy. The present queen is called Beatrix. The current borders were established in 1839. The Netherlands is a densely populated and geographically low-lying country. Tourists know it for its windmills, cheese, wooden shoes, tulips and bicycles. But the country is known for its water management, its architects, its industrial companies, the advanced agricultural methods, its famous old painters, its football players and social tolerance as well.

Below sea level

The highest point of the Netherlands, the Vaalserberg, in the most south-eastern point of the country, is only 322 metres (1,053 ft) above sea level. About half of the surface of the Netherlands is less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) above sea level, and much of it is actually below sea level. A substantial part of the Netherlands have been reclaimed from the sea. These areas are known as polders. This explains why The Netherlands is called "A land won from the sea". Moreover the Netherlands lies on the delta of three riviers. Among them the river Rhine. An extensive range of dykes, dams anddunes protects the coastal and river areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the water level in check. 

Densely populated

The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 395 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,023 sq mi)— or 484 people per square kilometre (1,254/sq mi) if only the land area is counted, since about 18 % is water.

The majority of the population is of local origin. They are Dutch. Of course there are many children and youngsters, but generally there is an increasing number of old people. Originally most people in the Netherlands were religious, protestant or roman catholic. Nowadays a lot of people, the majority in fact, does not visit any church. Many of them are non-religious at all. The tradional churches lost most of their former influence in society.

The Netherlands has always been an open nation. Many foreigners found their way to 'the Low Countries'. Among them Jews, refugees from Spain and Portugal in the 17th century. Their descendents are still living in the Netherlands. In the same century the country received protestant refugees from France: the Hugenots. In the second half of the 20th century there were many groups of foreign origine entering the Netherlands. First of all people from former colonies as Indonesia and Suriname. They brought Islam and Hinduism into the Netherlands. Many more moslims came to the Netherlands from Turkey and Morocco. They were supposed to be 'guestworkers', who would stay for only a few years. But many of them got permanent jobs and decided to stay permanently. They got families and tried to find their way in the Netherlands.